Cup dispenser



June 3, 1930. ca. DE VRIES 1,761,009

CUP DISPENSER Filed July 8, 1929 Patented June 3, 1930 GEORGE'D'E VRIESyOF 'OAKPABK, ILLINOiSfJ'ASSIGNOR 1T0 AMERICAN LACE PAY ER COMPANY, or" MILWAUKEE, WISCON SIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCOKSIN;

f, oUr'nIsrENs nn Application: filed July 8,

Ihisinvention relatesto improvements in cup dispensersj a novel, simple and effective dispenser for supporting a stack of'n'e'stedcups' or like c ontainers and adapted, when operated toe ect the lowermost cup of the stack while maintaining the-remainder of the stack supported.

In'the drawings? v p Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a complete cup dispensing device embodying this invention. Y

Figure 2 is a detail view on an enlarged" scale howmg the parts of the device'in sec 1 tion in a plane indicated'by the line 22 in Figure 3 is a vtransverse section through the case in the plane indicated at 3-3 in Fig.2 showing theejecting mechanism in plan.

Figure 4 is a detail taken in the plane indicated by the line 4-4 in Fi 3. a

Like parts are identified by the sam'ereference characters It will be understood to those skilled in this art, thatthe dispensing device may take a number of different forms. The particular form is-immaterial to the present'invenpro ected periphery of the sleeve 7 through tion which is concerned primarily with the ejecting mechanismiby dependably ejected from the machine.

The casing glass for housing by the ejector. the casing 5' is aregistermg discharge tube 7, having apertures 8 in its sides. Therethe stack of cups controlled beneath an inclined chute 9leads ejected cups to a discharge port 10 inthe casing.

The operating mechanism is all supported on sleeve 7 and comprises unitarily a yokeshaped Y jecting through slot 17 in the Icasel ,The

yoke-shaped portion of the lever extends,

about sleeve 7 andis .fulcrumed at diametri cally .opposedpoints'by the pivotpins18 which may-take the form of screws threaded into tapped openings in {sleeve 7.

Each arm of the yoke-shapedjlever 15 carries an upwardly extending segment 20 carrythroughout the several views.

which one cup is separated from the bottom of a stack of cups'and' 5houses the ejecting mechanism and supports a tube 6, conveniently made of Aligned with tube 6, withinlever 15 having a finger piece 16' pro- 1929. a Serial no. 376,515.

a o ings 8 the cups of the stack." I It is the object of the invention to provlde Flange21 is'relatively thin andis arcuat'el concentric witht-he'pivot pin 18 about W'hic the-lever oscillates. Flange 22 isangularly offset from flange 21 at a somewhat greater 1 radial distance from the fulcrum-'18 of the lever. Its upper margin is likewise concentrio with the axis of fulcrum pin"l8, but its lower margin is curved downwardly sub ,stantially to the projected arc in which flange 21 is disposed. Fig. 2 clearly shows the out line of the parts in elevation. Y e A sprin 23 normally maintains-theilever .15 elevatec against stop 24 onsleeve 7. From this normally elevated position of the finger piece16'the lever maybe oscillated manually tolower the finger piece until the leverengages stop 25. v i

lViththe lever in its normal initial position as shown. in Figs. 2 and 3. the stack of cu s within the device will be supported on t e flanges 21 which will project through the openings 8 in sleeve 7 to a position beneath the marginal beads 26 of the cups27 in the device. "In this position of the parts, flanges 22 carried by the lever will be outside of the wh'ichthecups move, and consequently will be wholly out of contact with the Cups. j

WVh'en the lever is manipulated by repress-I ing finger "piece16 to oscillate the lever in a clockwisedirection about its fulcrum pins'18 (as viewed inFig. 2); the pointed forward ends of flanges 22 will move between the bead of the lowest cup of the stack and the bead of the next cup thereabove; In so moving the. flanges 22 w1ll traverse axial planes including minorchords of'the cylindrical guide tubei7, and will enter the projected cross section ofthe tube upon arcuate paths spaced radially from'the paths of the withdrawn supporting flanges 21 in the same planes of movement. The increasing thickness offlan es 22 will tend, in the continued movement of theflever, to wedge such cups apart. As soon as this wedge function becomes effective the oscilla-i tion oflever 15 will remove flange 21 from beneath the stack of cups to the dotted line po-f sition in which such flange is shown in Fig.

3. In this position of the parts the wedging operation of flange 22 will have completely separated the lowest cup from the stack and ejected it through the sleeve 7 on to the chute 9 where it will be made available to the operator. In the meantime the stack of cups will be supported on the upper arcuately curved surface of flanges 22.

When the operator releases finger piece 16 the spring 23 acts to restore the parts to their original position. The wedge-shaped ejecting flanges 22 are again removed out of the path of cup travel and the supporting flanges 21 slip beneath the stack of cups, which drops slightly upon the supporting flanges as the ejecting flanges 22, which have temporarily supported the stack, pass out of range.

Fig. 4 shows the effect of the wedging flanges 22 upon the cups. The cup illustrated in broken line in Fig. 4 is in the position to which it is forced by the wedging action of flanges 22. Obviously the cup has been wholly separated from the stack and must fall by. ravity from this position onto the de-- 25 livery c ute 9.

paths of travel of flanges 21 and 22 preferably corresponds to the spacing between bead portions 26 of consecutive cups in the stack. Obviously, however, it is immaterial in a broad sense, whether this exact relation is preserved or whether the form of the flanges is slightly modified to permit of the transfer of the weight of the stack from one flange to 5the other during a concurrent wedging operation as above described. It will also be understood that in referring to cups I intend to designate generically all similar cupshaped articles such as may be dispensed in adevice of this character. The specific form of the guiding means for articles to be dispensed is also broadly immaterial.

I claim: 1. In a cup dispenser, the combination with a laterally apertured conduit, of cup ejecting means fulcrumed for oscillatory movement between first and second predetermined positions, and flanges carried by said means at different radial distances from the fulcrum thereof, and positioned to traverse different paths across the interior of said conduit through the apertures therein, said flanges being angularly ofl'set about said fulcrum for successive traverse of said conduit.

I 2. In a cup dispenser, the combination with a laterally aperturedconduit, of cup ejecting means fulcrumed for oscillatory movement between first and second predetermined positions,and flanges carried by said means at different radial distances from the fulcrum thereof, and positioned to traverse different paths across the interior of said conduit through the apertures therein, said flanges being angularly oflset about said fulcrum for successive traverse of said conduit, and

The radial distance between the respective one of said flanges being provided with a wedge portion adapted in movement of said means fromone of said positions to the other, to eject from said conduit a cup previously supported by the other of said flanges.

3. In a cup dispenser, the combination with a laterally apertured, tubular conduit, of a yoke fulcrumed at the sides of said support and provided with a manually operable por-' flanges on each such arm being radially and angularly offset.

5. In a .cup dispenser, the combination with a laterally apertured, tubular conduit, of a yoke fulcrumed at the sides of said support and provided with a manually operable portion, arms carried by said yoke ad acent the apertures of said conduit, and flanges mounted on said arm and movable through said apertures across portions of said condult, the flanges on each such arm being radiall and angularly offset, and one of said flanges eing provided with a wedge portion inclined toward the path of movement of the other of said flanges.

6. Ina cup dispenser, the combinatlon with a laterally apertured, tubular condult, of a yoke fulcrumed at the sides of said support and providedwith a manually operable portion, arms carried by sald yoke ad acent the apertures of said conduit, and flanges mounted on said arm and movable through said apertures across portions of said conduit, the flanges on each such arm being radially and angularly offset, and one of sa d flanges being provided with a wedge portion inclined toward the path of movement of the other of said flanges, together with means for yieldably pressing said yoke toward a position in which said other flanges are disposed within the openings of said conduit.

7. In a cup dispenser, the combination with a tube adapted to receive a stack of beaded cups to be dispensed, of a yoke-shaped lever including arms fulcrumed at either side of the path of movement of such cups, oscillatory cup supporting means connected with said lever, and cup feeding means angularly and radially offset from said supporting means and adapted in the oscillation of said lever to discharge a cup previously supported by said supporting means.

8. The combination with means for guid- 4 larly and radiall ing a stack of beaded cups, of a pair of arms pivoted on either side of the path of movement of said cups so guided, each such arm being provided with a pair of flanges angularly and radially spaced for successive engagement with bead portions of difierent cups, and wedge means movable with said flanges and operable upon the head portion of a cup from which one of said flanges has withdrawn.

9. The combination with means for guiding a stack of beaded cups, of a pair of arms pivoted on either side of the path of movement of said cups so guided, each such arm being provided with a pair of flanges anguspaced for successive engagement with cups, and wedge means movable with said flanges and operable upon the bead portion of a cup from which one of said flan es has ithdrawn, together with means or the simultaneous operation of said arms, and a spring opposing movement of said arms toward a position rendering said wedge means eflective.

GEORGE DE VRIES.

ead portions of different 

